Gas and air mixing device



Aug. 3, 1937. w. E. BENJAMIN I GAS AND AIR MIXING DEVICE Filed Oct. 29, 1934 u n z w a w 0! z. M Z 7M 2 1 M 1 7. 7. 4 Z 6 :Wu H! m J 1 r INVENTOR.

' BE/YJfiM/M Patented Aug. 3, 1937 UNITED STATES GAS AND AIR- Walter E. Benjamin,

MIXING DEVICE Anderson, Ind., assignor to The Pierce Governor 00., Anderson, Ind., a

corporation Application October 29, 1934, Serial No. 750,439

6 Claims.

This invention is directed to a gas and air mixing device to secure perfect operation of an internal combustion engine when using either artiflcial gas, natural gas, a blend of artificial and natural. gas, gases derived from hydro-carbons and compressed to a liquid state and maintained in that state until released for combustion purposes, or any fu'l that may be reduced to a gaseous form, then introduced to the engine or mixed with air in their proper proportions for use in operating an internal combustion englue. 8

The chief object of this invention is to provide a device which will maintain a uniform gas-to-air ratio throughout the entire range of engine operation.

Another and auxiliary object is to provide a device which is capable of ready adjustment to the B. t. u. content of the fuel gas used for combustion and the regulation is determinable by the heat unit analysis of the fuel in its gaseous form. I

Another object of the invention is to introduce at substantially atmospheric pressure the fuel in its gaseous form to the air stream for mixing, so that for at all throttle positions and for different typesof fuel gas (having reference to the B. t. u. content) the air and fuel gas are mixed at substantially atmospheric pressure, thereby eliminating variations that heretofore have been inherent in present commercial jet or velocity gas and air mixing devices, since, if the gaseous fuel is introduced to the air stream under a pressure other than atmosphere for a 35 certain type of engine operation, such as normal speed, the variation in the throttle position will usually result in a different variation in the air-to-fuel gas ratio. The chief feature of the invention consists in 40 constructing the device hereby all of the aforesaid objects may be accomplished.

The-full nature of the invention will be understood irom the accompanying drawing and the following description and claims:-

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a central sectional view through the fuel and air intake passages to the gas and air mixing device, the mixing chamber, the valving chamber and the valve portion itself, the latter being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-1 of Fig. land in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l and in the direction of the arrows.

55 Fig. 4. is a perspective view of the valve mem- (Cl. 13'I-111) her, the actuating member associated therewith and the fuel-to-air ratio adjusting member.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the device. y In the drawing, l0 indicates an air intake passage and positioned adjacent thereto is a gaseous fuel intake passage H. Herein the walls forming the passages are shown united and may be suitably secured to the valve body portion i2. The passage l0 communicates with a rectangular passage l3 in the valve body l2 as at M, and the port extends entirely across and through the same. The passage H communicates with a parallel rectangular passage l5 by means of the port It. Passage I5 extends entirely through the valve body I2.

The opposite ends of the two passages l3 and i5 discharge at substantially the same level into a mixing chamber H; the mixing chamber bei herein shown detachably secured as at l8 to the valve body. The mixing chamber includes the apertured threaded portions IQ for detachable anchorage to the intake of the internal combustion engine which is not shown therein.

Extending entirely through the body i2 is a cylindrical chamber 20. This chamber 20 is closed at one end as at 2| by any suitable means, such as that illustrated. Its opposite end is enlarged and threaded as at 22. A cylindrical valve member is both rotatably and slidably mounted in said cylindrical valve chamber 20. The cylindrical valve member includes an end portion 23, an intermediate vane connecting portion 24, a cylindrical portion 25, a second vane or connecting portion 26 in longitudinal alignment with the first mentioned vane portion 24, and another cylidrical portion 21. The stem 28 rigid therewith rotatably supports the externally threaded retainer 29 and an actuating arm 30 is suitably secured to the valve stem 28 as at 3|. The width of the vane 24 or distance between the two adjacent faces of the portions 23 and 25, is equai to that of the width of the passage H. The thicknessof the portion 25 is equal to the width of the passage l5, plus the width of the wall portion 32 between the two passages l3 and IS. The distance between the two cylindrical portions 25 and 21 is at least equal to the width of the passage l5 and preferably is equal to the width of the portion 25.

As shown in moved so that the cylindrical portions are displaced toward the left an amount such that the cylindrical portion 25 exposes or half of the passage i5. Simultaneously with such exposure, the amount of restriction applied to the Fig. 1, the valve member has been' uncovers but combustible mixture between that is, gas-to-air ratio at full open throttle position.

The parts are so proportioned that if the valve member were actually moved to the right until only the .vane 24 constituted the entire obstruction in the passage l3, then at that time there would be passage through the efl'ective. Of course, the maximum effective air-to-gas ratio possible in the opposite direction would be" for the portion 25 to have its right hand edge substantially coincident with the right hand wall of passage l3 shown in Fig. 1, in which position, the cylindrical portion 25 would substantially block out half of the total air passage.

In Fig. 5 the valve control is further illustrated. In this figure, the retaining member 29 is shown provided with a serrated edge 34 and suitably supported at 35 is a yielding latch 36 which enthe adjusted 40 the stem 28, threading and unthreading movement of member to shift the latter axially to the'left or right,

not disturb at valve.

By this means the air-to-gas ratio may be changed at will without disturbing any of the connected throttle control mechanism. It will be all the throttle position of the fuel entering the mixing chamber for any given anism connected to the end 45 of the lever arm 30 will control the engine.

As is well known in the automotive engine field, a governor construction may be interposed between a manually operable throttle actuating member and the lever arm 30, so that this device is readily capable of incorporation in a fuel control system which is automatically controlled to regulate maximum speed by a governor operable by the engine itself or which will also permit themanual control of the engine by moving the valve member rotarily into the adjusted throttling position. In other words, the position of the arm 30 determines the amount of fuel gas of a uniform gas-to-air ratio that is supplied to the intake of the engine. One stop limits the valve movement toward the closing or cut off position, which is close to 90 or 90 to that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and this the idling position of the engine.

valve member 3, but the two It will also be evident that the fuel gas and the air are introduced into the chamber IT at the same level and thus any suction of the engine or any velocity of the air through the passage i0 and the passage l3 will have little or no effect on the amount of chamber l1.

mined by the two positions of the-valve, that is the axial and the rotary positions. It is not in any way dependent upon the velocity of the air forming a part of the subsequent mixture. This type of structure, therefore, permits the fuel gas to be supplied to the gas and air mixing device at substantially atmospheric pressure.

The device, as illustrated, represents the simplest form of the invention capable of supplying to amount for any given throttle position and for different throttle positions supplying fuel gas having the predetermined fuel-to-air ratio selectively determined and for which the valve is adjusted.

The present invention is extremely simple since fixed by the engine manufacturer as determined by said manufacturer to be most efficient for the power and speed the engine is to have.

The present device is so arranged that if a square inch of manifold intake is used in the engine, the size of the device is the same. Therefore, full freedom of flow of the maximum combustible mixture to the intake is possible.

Furthermore, if desired, an automatic fuel gas cut-ofi device may be positioned ahead of the gas inlet to automatically stop the flow of fuel gas it the engine inadvertently should stop.

The device can be used in any position, that is,-

for horizontal, down draft, or up draft carburetion.

The invention claimed is:-

1. A fuel gas-to-air ratio and throttle type control and mixing device, including a body having a cylindrical bore therein, with a pair of passages having axes lying in a common plane communi- I eating attheir inner ends with the bore and a pair of larger passages having axes lying in a common plane communicating with'the bore at their inner ends, the vertex of the angle formed by the intersection of the axes of each pair of passages lying in the bore axis, the outer end of one passage of a pair of said passages being adapted for independent communication with a fuel supply and the outer end of one passage of the other pair of said passages being adapted for independent communication with the atmos-.

phere, the outer ends of the other two passages having common communication, a cylindrical valve member in said bore and of. an axial length less than the length of the bore, for axial and rotatable movement therein, closures for opposite ends of the bore, a stem rigid with the valve and rotatable and axially movable in one of the closures, and means carried by the stem forrotating the valve, one of said closures having anadjustable connection with the body for axial adiustment of the valve therein, said cylindrical valve member including a recess in the periphery and of a width at least equal to the corresponding width of a passage of the pair of smallest passages and of an arcuate length suflicient to simultaneously register with the bore communieating ends of said last mentioned pair of passages, said valve member including another recess in its periphery and ofiset axially from the first recess and of a linear width at least equal to the corresponding linear width of a passage of the other pair of passages and of an arcuate length sufilcientto simultaneously register with the bore communicating ends of said last mentioned pair of passages, said recesses being axially separated an amount at least equal to the distance between the pairs of passages.

2. A device as defined by claim 1, character'- ized by the duplication of recesses symmetrically arranged with, respect to the axis of the valve member, the valve member including a portion between each pair of duplicated recesses constituting a control vane for the respective pair of said passages.

3. A device as defined by claim 1, characterized by each pair of passages being coaxial.

4. A device as defined by claim 1, characterized by each pair of passages being coaxial, both last mentioned coaxial alignments being coplanar.

5. A device as defined by claim 1, characterized by the duplication of recesses symmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of the valve member, the valve member including a portion between each pair of duplicated recesses constituting a control vane for the respective pair of said passages, each pair of passages being coaxial.

6. A device as defined by claim 1, characterized by the duplication of recesses symmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of the valve member, the valve member including a. portion between each pair of duplicated recesses constituting a. control vane for the respective pair of said passages, each pair of passages being coaxial, both last mentioned alignments being coplanar. WALTER E. BENJAMIN. 

